Qué el Mundo Nunca Llevará

Costarriquenismos

2009-03-03T22:34:00.003-06:00

Here are our "TOP 5" lists for everything Costa Rican

Most Common Phrases:

1. Pura Vida (Pure Life)

2. ¡Que Rico! (Technically, How Rich. But they use it for EVERYTHING)

3. ....este..... (filler word)

4. ....bueno.... (OK/filler word)

5. ¡Tranquilo! (Relax)

Most Common Smells:

1. Pot/Weed/Marijuana/TheGanja

2. Tico boy cologne

3. Dog Poop (Manda doesn't agree with this one)

4. Roasting Coffee (I don't agree with this one)

5. Cilantro

Top Ticoisms:

1. Add "-ita" to names to make things little (ie. Amandita)

2. Add "-isimo" to words to emphasize how awesome they are (ie. Ricisimo)

3. Ridiculously roll "R's"

4. Add a weird "rrjsh" noise to words that end in R

5. Add "-ota" to names to make things big (ie. Amandota)

Phrases spanish speakers say to hit on Gringas:

1. Nice body, nice baby!

2. ¡Sexo! (Translation: ¡Sex! ........I don't know either)

3. ¡Macha! (Translation: ?)

4. "Sschhs"- just an annoying noise (the Tico equivalent of whistling at girls)

5. "I loou you!"

6. I just got a phone call tonight with a stranger telling me "F*** you" over and over, then ended with "I want to make love with you." I said "No thanks" and hung up. Really... What was he expecting. I have never heard of someone making a prank call like that and the girl saying "OK."

xxxxXXX Cont'd

2009-02-24T14:47:00.000-06:00

Really... I don't know if I really want to finish this story. I would have to make complete sentences with the words "underwear" and "boobs"...... I'm embarrassed already.

Awkward to the MAXxxx

2009-02-23T22:52:00.000-06:00

The couple that lived in our apartment before us left us all kinds of information that they thought we might find useful. One business card in particular was for a masseuse that happened to be very nearby and VERY cheap- less than $10 for an hour!!!!!! Amanda and I were like Heck Yeah!

So early one Saturday morning, we decided that was going to be massage day. I called the lady and asked for 3 massage appointments- for me, Amanda, and our friend Brendan. She promptly stopped me to tell me that she did NOT give massages to "gentlemen." That should have been our first warning sign about this lady..........

Well sorry folks ('folks' meaning Heavy), but I have to stop here. I have to go to sleep so that I won't HATE life tomorrow at school. So.... creepy massages to be continued.

Buying the Rentals

2009-02-18T11:50:00.000-06:00

Amanda and I watch a lot of movies here in CR. When we moved here, we thought we would be too busy studying (yeah right) to watch much of anything, so neither of us brought many movies. While I was at home for Christmas, I went into Hastings to buy a few magazines for the flight back to San José. We had heard some good reviews on a couple of Spanish flicks, so I wondered over to the Foreign Films section just to check out the prices. I found both movies for ONLY $1.99! I thought well heck, I'm gonna see if I can find any more bargains. After searching high and low, I found 12 movies all priced for ONLY $1.99. I sent Amanda a text telling her "JACKPOT!!!!!!!!!!" I was so excited! I had even found some of the coveted classics (like Three Amigos)! I was thinking I stumbled on some 'out of this world, unpublicized, after-Christmas, super movie sale.' So... I went to pay for my treasure, and the kid at the register asks me if I had my Hastings card with me. I know that I gave him a super weird look and asked him, "Do I need my card to buy these?" And he says, "You can't buy these. These are all rentals.".................

Apparently, after only a few months in a foreign country, it is possible to forget how movie RENTAL stores work.

Yes. I have a bad attitude.

2009-01-21T09:27:00.001-06:00

Some days I would rather be hit by a bus than sit through Grammar Class.

Participios and past tense verbs are making me CRAZY!!!

And irregular verbs are the dumbest thing I have ever heard of.

"crap... I don't know..."

2009-01-14T18:19:00.000-06:00

I just ordered pizza by telephone for the first time. By the end, she hung up on me.

First, I asked if I could order in English and she told me that she could understand. But I decided to help her out and bust out my very limited Español. I told her my name, phone number, and address (which is another ridiculous subject in itself). Then she started rattling off something that i assumed was about a delivery charge. I just said "Ok". Then she hung up. No chao. No nothing... Give me a break, people!!

I don't know if our dinner will get to us tonight or not.

The Free Tour

2009-01-04T19:45:00.000-06:00

La Carpio Christmas

2008-12-06T12:42:00.000-06:00

These kids were cracking themselves up!

PAOLA! She's a mess!

Amanda with Jocelyn, Marlow, Steven, and Miguel (aka Hercules)

Que mas? Que mas?

2008-10-13T22:33:00.000-05:00

Falling down is inevitable here in San Jose. The sidewalks suck. It is more safe to walk in the street. Amanda has had her share of falls- first breaking her toe nail and next getting her entire foot and shoe stuck in a crack in the sidewalk. I'm not gonna lie- I laugh at her till it hurts! I have been lucky. Until today. Today I bit it HARD. Since it rains everyday here, the sidewalks are mossy and slick. Amanda and I were crossing the street on our way to the park where we jog and I stepped out of the street onto the curb and start toppling in slow-motion all the way down. I caught myself with my left hand, but the sidewalk was so slippery that my hand slips out from under me too! I laughed all the way down. When I FINALLY stopped falling, I was lying completely on my stomach, my hands stretched above my head, with my shirt scrunched up, my back totally exposed and my bare tummy against the dirty, wet sidewalk. Amanda and I laughed for the next two blocks....

This weekend, we took a trip to the mountains to a town call Mounteverde. We made some friends from Germany, we walked at least 700 miles through the rainforest with a stray dog as our guide. We went to a cheese factory where Amanda bought this ChocoCheese. Yep, you guessed it, chocolate flavored cheese..... I don't even know what ChocoCheese should be used with. I will try anything once, and this was a one-time-only experience. I felt like Monica on Friends when she has to make desserts from "Mocolate". Boo for chocolate cheese.

This is Snaggle, our perro/tour guide. I have never seen a dog with such jacked up teeth.

We also went to a Quaker church while in Mounteverde. Weird. Like I said, I will try anything once. That was seriously something I only want to do one time. The entire congregation sat in a circle facing each other, sitting in COMPLETE SILENCE for a full hour, even the kids. They use this as time to pray and meditate, but all I could think was "I want a nap!" There is a lot to be learned from Quakers, like actually being still and quiet long enough to hear God speak to you. "Spiritual Fitness" is the way they say it.

Que mas? We have so many stories, I don't know which ones to tell..................

It's okay to be curious....right?

2008-09-01T20:46:00.000-05:00

1 Peter 5:6-7

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you."

Amanda and I are adjusting to our brand new life in Costa Rica pretty well! I believe we are dealing with homesickness prettty well! I am also pretending to be alright with not flushing the toiletpaper (it's true, we have to throw TP in the trash). We have been told (repeatedly) that our city isn't safe at night (and night begins at 6 p.m.), so we spend a lot of time in our apartment. This gives me a lot of time to uncover what God has probably been trying to tell me for months.

I have been asking myself if anything in my life in the past few months has been glorifying to Christ? I was snatched from complacency and lovingly planted in a whole new country. Kind of hardcore...

Romans 8:28

"And we know that in ALL THINGS God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose."

In orientation today we talked about how deceitful our hearts can be- that our heart convinces us that we should not feel guilty about the things our heads think are wrong... those things that crouch down in the corners of our minds. A volunteer at our school told us that Satan is like that Rattlesnake in the middle of the road that we know is dangerous but we let our curiosity get the best of us. We slowly sneak up on him hoping not to be seen- just close enough to get a good look. Before we know it we are poking at Satan with a 10 inch stick!

This is where I was.

Creeping closer to the Enemy.

In the middle of all this, my deceitful heart tells me "it's okay to be curious".

I am so glad that I have such a wise roommate! She has convinced me that God is about to do a great work- that He is cooking up something real good! And I need to straighten up- refocus- so that I may have a part in this work!

God is Mighty to Save.

Psalm 30

"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word i put my hope."

And so it begins

2008-08-22T21:59:00.000-05:00

Last night, Amanda and I drove through the streets of San Jose on our way to our new apartment. The city completely fills the bowl of the central valley, and city lights look like gold stars as they climb the sides of the mountains. It's weird knowing they are on the ground but they appear to be floating.
Tonight we decided to start blogging- yep, we are those girls- to keep in touch with the civilized world. I have been considering starting this for a while; I'm not a super deep thinker and I have a lot of questions that need intellectual answers.

And so it begins. Our first day in our new country started with a trip to the supermercado with our "host mom" who speaks zero english. We spent 82,000 colones...we still have no idea how many American dollars that equals. Then we slept. For a very long time.

Amanda is across from me singing Tiny Dancer.
I'm curled up on the bottom bunk of my bed (which I don't sleep in--it's so comforting to have a friend who lets me be a big baby and will share her bed).
We had crackers and coffee for dinner (galletas y café).
Now we are trying to cleverly word our blogs while we eat some kind of awesome coconut cookies and drink Choco Leche.